Crusading for change in the Catholic Church

Editor—Arie's piece on the Catholic Church, condoms, and AIDS raises more questions than it answers.¹ In mentioning the Philippines, a country that rejects condom promotion, Arie does not mention that AIDS rates there are lower than in neighbouring Thailand, where condoms are heavily promoted. She does not mention the success of church promoted abstinence programmes in countries such as Uganda, which a major UN AIDS study recognised as largely responsible for the decline in AIDS.² The non-Catholic authors note that other countries continue with high HIV transmission despite high condom use.²

Critics of the church's teaching in this area also fail to account for the fact that in Africa the highest AIDS rates are in countries with small Catholic populations. The late Pope John Paul II promoted unconditional respect for the value and dignity of human beings and their sexuality. It is heartening that people outside the church are beginning to see the wisdom of his message.